Formula One has witnessed 108 different race winners in 70 years of racing with 29 drivers taking just a single win, as we take a look at five of the greatest first F1 wins of all-time.
From taking an opening F1 victory on home soil to clinching that first win against the backdrop of emotional circumstances, there have many classic opening wins over the years which will split fans if asked for the greatest opening win by any driver.
Now join us as we look back at five of the greatest first wins in F1 which all under a variety of circumstances.
Giancarlo Fisichella – 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix
Embed from Getty ImagesMost drivers would like to take their first F1 victory on track but Giancarlo Fisichella took what is definitely one of the sport’s strangest ever wins, following count back controversy.
The race begun under the Safety Car after a torrential downpour prior to the race start, with Fisichella slowly climbing up the order once racing commenced and narrowly avoiding a collision with Jordan teammate – Ralph Firman on lap 18 after the latter suffered suspension failure.
Eventually by lap 54, Fisichella snatched the lead after Kimi Raikkonen understeered into the Mergulho corner as Mark Webber was just about to cause controversy behind them.
Losing grip on the up-hill climb, Webber lost control to send him into a spin before bouncing off the tyre wall and across the track, all whilst spewing debris across the track.
Renault’s Fernando Alonso meanwhile was discussing tyre strategy on team radio, as he came across one of Webber’s detached rear wheels with such speed that he veered towards the inside tyre barrier, before violently sliding across into the concrete wall with tyres scattered across the track.
The race was immediately stopped on lap 55 so Alonso could be attended to (he only suffered bruising) and track cleared of debris but wasn’t resumed with two lap count back initially giving Raikkonen the win.
An internal investigation however was soon launched into a possible timesheet error by TAG Heuer, which eventually proved founded days later with Fisichella actually having started his 56th lap at time of the red flag.
The top two were therefore reversed with Fisichella declared the winner which was his first of three overall wins in F1, although the latter two would prove more straight forward than his first with a trophy exchange taking place at the following race.
Daniel Ricciardo – 2014 Canadian Grand Prix
Embed from Getty Images2014 looked to be the year of Mercedes but that year’s Canadian Grand Prix would see a new name climb onto the top step as Daniel Ricciardo took a shock first victory in his first season at Red Bull.
Mercedes appeared set for another dominant performance after breezing through qualifying to lock out the front row, and overcoming an early first corner clash to lead one-two by lap 10.
Unreliability however was set to pay Hamilton and Rosberg an unexpected visit as both cars fell foul of warm temperatures within their MGU-K units which reduced their power.
Hamilton’s rear brake discs then began overheating during his second pit stop, thereby forcing him to retire the car whilst Rosberg managed to nurse his car to the finish, despite conceding victory to Ricciardo after a spectacular late charge from the Aussie.
Ricciardo’s first win is therefore up there with various classics because he kept his cool, whilst those around him desperately fought for the win in warm conditions, before launching one of the best ever last gasp victory charges seen in F1.
Ayrton Senna – 1985 Portuguese Grand Prix
Rewind back to 1985 and the Portuguese GP had moved from its late October slot of 1984 to late April, unknowingly to be the scene of one of the greatest breakthrough F1 wins of all-time as Ayrton Senna took his first victory in just his second race for Lotus.
Senna stormed to a debut pole position which he comfortably retained at the start in wet conditions, before rapidly breaking away from the chasing pack to take victory from Ferrari’s Michele Alboreto by over a minute.
It therefore is difficult to find a more comfortable opening victory by any F1 race winner than Senna, who mastered not just the wet conditions but also the various demands of Circuito de Estoril which is situated on a rocky plateau.
This race also saw just nine finishers excluding Manfred Winkelhock who wasn’t classified at 17 laps down, with all but Alboreto lapped by Senna.
Charles Leclerc – 2019 Belgian Grand Prix
Embed from Getty ImagesCharles Leclerc had seen victory evade him earlier last season in Bahrain in his debut season at Ferrari, but Belgium would see him climb to the top step under bittersweet circumstances.
Having taken pole in qualifying the previous afternoon, Leclerc endured the shock loss of a close friend in Anthoine Hubert, who tragically lost his life in the F2 Feature Race shortly afterwards.
The F1 race however went ahead on the Sunday with Hubert’s death casting a dark shadow, as drivers gathered for a minute silence pre race before Leclerc made a clean start once the race got underway.
Ferrari teammate – Sebastian Vettel meanwhile got into a race long scrap with both Mercedes cars, whilst forced to switch to a two stop strategy which meant that he acted as a buffer to hold up both Silver Arrows mid-race as Leclerc sped off into the distance.
That tactic however paid off in Leclerc’s favour because Hamilton despite all his might proved unable to catch and deny the Monegasque a bittersweet maiden F1 victory, albeit assisted by a crash for Antonio Giovinazzi forcing yellow flags to slow them down briefly.
Although Leclerc’s first F1 win came under bittersweet circumstances, it is hard not to praise him for his performance that afternoon because he could of easily let nerves and emotions get the better of him but he did Hubert proud with his maiden win.
Max Verstappen – 2016 Spanish Grand Prix
Embed from Getty ImagesCan you imagine receiving a mid-season promotion and winning on debut for your new team?
Well that is what happened to Max Verstappen when he swapped Toro Rosso for Red Bull and benefitted from luck to smash records and become the youngest ever F1 race winner at just 18 years and 228 days.
Mercedes had dominated qualifying to lock out the front row but a feisty start saw Hamilton squeezed into a spin across the grass, consequently rejoining the track right in Rosberg’s path to wipe them both out of the race.
That left the path clear for a four way fight over the win between both Red Bull and Ferrari drivers, with tyre strategies proving crucial as Verstappen and Raikkonen executed a two stopper to finish in the top two with just 0.816s between them.
Vettel and Ricciardo meanwhile attempted to pull off a three stopper as they squabbled for what eventually would be third place, until Ricciardo suffered a puncture and had to make a late stop which ended his podium chances.
In my opinion, what made Verstappen’s maiden win impressive was not just the fact that he made his first racing debut for Red Bull, but the manner in which he fought off one of F1’s experienced veterans in Kimi Raikkonen was just amazing for someone of his age.
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